UPDATE 1-Facebook calls on members to flag organ donor status

CHICAGO, May 1 (Reuters) - Tired of the long wait for a newkidney, Michael Shelling, a 50-year-old video game marketingconsultant based in San Diego, decided to take a more activerole in the search.

About three months ago, he decided to tap into his socialnetwork by setting up a Facebook page to get the word out to hisfriends, and their friends, that he needs a new kidney and, bythe way, his blood type is O.

The search may have paid off. A potential donor is goingthrough testing to see if they are a match.

It is the kind of scenario Facebook hopes to foster. ChiefExecutive Mark Zuckerberg and Chief Operating Officer SherylSandberg put out the call earlier on Tuesday to encourage thesocial network's users -- more than 900 million -- to speak upif they are organ donors and display it on their personal pages.

"We think that people can really help spread awareness oforgan donation and that they want to participate in this totheir friends, and we think that can be a big part in helping tosolve the crisis," Zuckerberg told ABC-TV's "Good MorningAmerica" program on Tuesday.

There are currently 92,102 people in the United Stateswaiting for a donor kidney -- the organ that is in greatestdemand -- according to the Organ Procurement and TransplantationNetwork. Last year, only 28,535 kidney transplants took place,with the majority of those donated from deceased donors.

That disparity leaves many like Shelling waiting in line fora donor organ to become available, a process that can take threeor four years, said Joel Newman, a spokesman for the UnitedNetwork for Organ Sharing.

In 2007, Shelling was diagnosed with end-stage kidneydisease as a result of chronic high blood pressure. He undergoeshome dialysis to clear excess fluid, minerals and wastes fromhis blood, but he longs for the day when he can do without it.

So, he decided to conduct his own search for a donor.

"With the waiting list, that tells you there are more peopleout there that need organs than are willing or able to donate.Some of that has to do with a lack of awareness," Shelling said.

BROAD SUPPORT, FEW SIGN ON

In many cases, people simply do not think about becoming anorgan donor, Newman said. He hopes Zuckerberg's call to havepeople add their donor status to their Facebook Timeline willincrease awareness of the need for organ donors.

"Organ donation is generally something many people think isa wonderful thing, but many people just haven't made thatdecision," Newman said.

In a blog post, Zuckerberg and Sandberg said they wereinspired by how members have used the social network in times ofcrisis.

"Last year in Missouri, Facebook users tracked down andreturned treasured mementos to families who thought they'd losteverything in the Joplin tornado. In Japan, people used Facebookto locate family and friends following the 2011 earthquake andtsunami. Smaller acts of kindness happen millions of times a dayon Facebook," they wrote.

Surveys show that as many as 90 percent of Americans supportorgan donation, but only about a third of the 200 millionlicensed drivers in the United States actually tick the boxindicating consent to being an organ donor.

In the United States, a person dies waiting for a transplantevery four hours. While the need for organ donation continues torise, donation rates have been nearly flat for the past 20years.